New Year, new planets

Welcome back to a new year! I hope everyone is set up for a fantastic 2019 and everyone’s writing is in full swing.

But even if it’s not, CSFG’s first meeting of 2019 is on Wednesday 20 February 2019 (usual time and location – see calendar for details) and boy do we have an interesting second half presentation…

Brad Tucker from ANU will be presenting on Exoplanets: what they are, how they are found and much more. Brad is an Astrophysicist and a researcher at Mt Stromlo observatory (http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~brad/) and has agreed to make some of his valuable time available to us. If you’re a science fiction writer, this is a must see!

One Comment

I live in Sydney and have just joined CSFG. Any chance of getting some of the notes from Mr Tucker?

I have a question for Mr Tucker. Is the following correct?
LOOKING FOR SUITABLE EXOPLANETS.
The closest stars (distance wise) to our solar system are M dwarf types. Most of them have super Earth class planets of adequate mass orbiting in their habitable zone and are more likely covered with deep oceans. However in spite of these positive characteristics, there are several factors which would make life difficult on planets around a red dwarf.First, planets in the habitable zone of a red dwarf would be so close to the parent star that they would likely be tidally locked. One side would be in perpetual daylight and the other in permanent darkness. This would create enormous temperature variations from one side of the planet to the other.
Such conditions would make it difficult for forms of life similar to those on Earth.
As well, variability in stellar energy output would make it difficult for life to develop and persist near a red dwarf. They are known as “flare stars”, as they can emit high-energy outbursts with very large magnetic fields deviations, diminishing the possibility of life as we know it. Indeed, most exoplanetary star systems discovered so far are very different from our solar system.We categorize the planets by using a measure called the Earth Similarity Index (ESI) based on mass, radius and temperature.
These criteria can also be considered: orbital distance and stability, as well as similar geography, oceans, air and weather conditions and strong magnetosphere which could lead to the presence of Earth-like complex life.
Apart from these criteria, the most decisive factor is that it should orbit a star much like our Sun.
Our Sun is a G-type main-sequence star (G2V) based on its spectral class. It has not changed for four billion years, and remains fairly stable. It is therefore necessary to eliminate stellar extremes and variability that may be applicable to other types of stars to find a suitable exoplanet..The closest like star system is more than 10 light years away!! All in all not an easy task!
Best regards,

About the CSFG

The CSFG is an association for Canberra-based creators of speculative fiction. Our goal is to support and provide development opportunities for our members as they move from aspiring, to published, to professional makers of spec-fic.